Exclusive Reading By Yorkshire Dementia Campaigner Wendy Mitchell Comes to Leeds Playhouse

Bestselling author Wendy Mitchell is giving an exclusive reading at Leeds Playhouse on Tuesday 10 May as she explores how to live creatively with dementia alongside her fellow Yorkshire writer Rosa Peterson.

Wendy is the author of two books about life with dementia, Somebody I Used to Know and What I Wish People Knew About Dementia, both of which are Sunday Times Bestsellers. Rosa is a playwright conjuring stories from her imagination. Her first play, A Horse Called Freedom, was performed at Leeds Playhouse's Every Third Minute festival in 2018.

Both took up writing after being diagnosed with a form of dementia, demonstrating the possibilities of creative potential even in life-changing circumstances.

"Continuing to be creative helps me escape my dementia, shows others I'm still a person with talents despite my dementia and, in the process, helps others to understand this complex brain disease," said Wendy.

Leeds Playhouse is proud to be a Dementia Friendly theatre, offering regular opportunities for people living with dementia and their families to attend creative sessions and enjoy theatre performances.

Dr Nicky Taylor, the Playhouse's Theatre and Dementia Research Associate, said: "We are committed to creatively supporting people living with dementia. We encourage people to use their imagination and express themselves creatively despite the challenges dementia presents. In our creative sessions, we see participants relax, express themselves and flourish in the moment. Ultimately the arts offer rich possibilities for people living with dementia and their supporters to connect with others, providing crucial social opportunities and peer support."

Members of the Playhouse's Peer Support Group - a creative group for people living with dementia run in partnership with Leeds Museums & Galleries, Leeds Libraries, and Leeds City Council's Peer Support Services - worked with playwright Frances Poet to develop a new play, Maggie May, which opens this Saturday (7 May).

Wendy and Rosa both played an important role in shaping the play, a co-production with Queen's Theatre Hornchurch and Curve in Leicester, which explores the effect a dementia diagnosis has on an ordinary Leeds family, balancing the heartfelt drama with music and humour.

"It felt like quite a daunting task to find a form that could work for and be truthful to an audience of people living with dementia, their carers as well as a wider audience with no direct connection to dementia," said Frances.

"Some of the Playhouse's amazing ambassadors came to an early reading of the play. When Maggie tells her son that she might forget him but will remember him in her heart, a man in front of me nudged his wife and gave her a little nod. It had obviously resonated with him. It was a wonderful moment."

All performances of Maggie May from 7-21 May will be Dementia Friendly, with additional staff, detailed pre-show information and a quiet space. There will also be a free interactive installation - the Picture Booth - designed by Leeds Playhouse Resident Designer Warda Abbasi to amplify the experiences of people living with dementia through shared pictures and memories.

People living with dementia are warmly welcome at both the Writing with Dementia event and Maggie May. Click here to find out more about Leeds Playhouse's ongoing Theatre & Dementia work.

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